October 07-14, 2026

Brazil, Manaus (heart of the Amazon Rainforest)

Organized by Igapó Institute, NGO with the Institutional Support of CENBAM, PPBIO, INPA (National Institute of Amazon Research)

Includes certification
Course led by experts
Fee: 6500 BRL. Approximately 1180 USD/ 1000 EUR/ 900 GBP

 

This eight-day bat ecology course in the Amazon offers intensive, hands-on training in field and laboratory techniques for studying Neotropical bats. Based on a pristine rainforest north of Manaus, participants learn bat capture, acoustic monitoring, roost ecology, guano and ectoparasite analysis, and emerging survey technologies such as thermal imaging and drones. Designed for students and early-career researchers, the course integrates theory and practice to provide a comprehensive introduction to bat research in a tropical rainforest setting.

​

Schedule

Day 1
Morning
Welcome session at the Reserve and course overview. 
Afternoon
Introduction to bat ecology and fundamentals of bat capture
Presentation: Why catch bats? Discussion on the limitations of acoustic-only monitoring, what mist-netting and trapping add to ecological studies, including an overview of mist nets, harp traps, and acoustic lures.
Night
Field session: Mist-netting along trails, off-trail, and near streams; comparison of sex ratios and reproductive states across habitats.
Day 2
Morning
Presentation: Bats and their ectoparasites. Overview of the main ectoparasite groups, how to recognise them, and their evolutionary adaptations.
Afternoon
Short walk to explore the reserve and understand the landscape.
Night
Field session in upland forest; collecting guano, counting and collecting ectoparasites from bats captured in nets.
Day 3

Morning
Presentation: 
1. Tree-roosting bats and roost ecology, roost selection by Neotropical species, including tent-making bats.
2. Tree climbing theoretical introduction.
Afternoon
Workshop: Identification of bat ectoparasites using microscopes.
Night
Field session: Collecting guano from live-captured insectivorous bats and sampling ectoparasites.
Day 4

Morning
Practical tree-climbing workshop.
Night
Field session: Mist-netting near and over rivers; guano collection.
Day 5

Morning
Rest.
Afternoon
Echolocation and acoustic monitoring.
Presentation: How to use passive acoustic recorders, identify species on spectrograms, and integrate acoustic data into monitoring programs.
Night
Field session; deployment of a static detector and guided acoustic bat walk.
Day 6
Morning
Rest or optional guided walk.
Afternoon
Lab session: Preliminary identification of bat calls recorded during fieldwork.
Night
Field session: Mist-netting in upland rainforest; guano collection.
Day 7
Morning
Lab session: Identifying invertebrate groups from guano fragments under the microscope.
Afternoon
Presentation: Applications of drones, infrared cameras and thermal imaging for bat surveys and colony monitoring.
Night
Field demonstration of IR and thermal camera.
Day 8
Morning
  Presentation: Marking and tracking techniques for bats; principles of radio telemetry.
Afternoon
Optional lab session: Identifying invertebrate groups from guano fragments under the microscope + identification of ectoparasites.
   Or optional trail walk
Night
Departure from the reserve.